


Frostbite

by midoritakamine



Category: Senyuu.
Genre: It's never too early for winter fics, M/M, Much less ask them to watch the snow fall with him, Teufel doesn't know how to talk to people
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-25
Updated: 2016-10-25
Packaged: 2018-08-27 00:23:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8380222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midoritakamine/pseuds/midoritakamine
Summary: Teufel's reply startles himself, and when he looks up to meet Foyfoy's gaze he finds himself repeating it in the same collected voice he always uses. "You don't have to pay me, I'll help you in exchange for your time."





	

**Author's Note:**

> i was doing shindan prompts and it gave me winter date for these two and at the same time i was listening to snow halation so i figured why not  
> i had no idea how to end this and writer's block was coming up on me so pardon that. also i never beta Anything

Foyfoy never figured he would work at the castle this long, and Teufel never figured he would last this long either.

With sleep deprived eyes, Teufel watches as the more inexperienced butler throws open the curtains to the room. He instinctively flinches, expecting a blast of bright sunlight in his eyes only to instead feel a smooth chill creep up his spine. With a squint, he notices the frost on the window and the soft fluttering outside. Winter already?

His thoughts are resonated nearly immediately aloud by Foyfoy, pondering just how long he had worked and if winter had been closer than previously imagined. The topic is soon abandoned in both their minds as Teufel, still in bed, slowly pulls the covers over his head and shuts his eyes again. He's quickly interrupted by Foyfoy grabbing the hem of the sheets and pulling at them.

"Get up," he insists. It's a routine at this point, him going to fetch a still-sleeping Teufel around noon. It doesn't particularly bother Foyfoy, just another unexpected task as a castle butler. "C'mon, we have extra work because of the snow."

"You mean _you_ have extra work," Teufel mumbles back, reaching for the covers while Foyfoy simultaneously pulls them further out of reach until both the sheets and Teufel are halfway off the bed and onto the floor. An annoyed sound makes its way out of Teufel's throat and he looks up at Foyfoy with a sour expression. "What?"

Foyfoy's expression is equally sour. "You're gonna help me out this time. No excuses. If I have to, I'll pay you." With that little white lie (of course Foyfoy wouldn't pay him, he needs this money), he drops the sheets from his hands and stops just inside the door frame of Teufel's room. They spend a few moments staring at each other, Foyfoy eventually raising his brows as an indication that yes, he would wait there all day until Teufel gets his lazy ass up and dressed. Seeing no simple or bribe-induced way around Foyfoy's stubborn disposition, Teufel grumbles as he tosses his shirt on the floor and he fumbles his half-asleep way towards his closet.

It takes him around twenty minutes to dress, another common enough occurrence. Once he hears a grunt, Foyfoy turns around and is greeted with averted eyes. Not exactly strange but still weird enough that Foyfoy speaks and asks what's up.

Teufel's reply startles himself, and when he looks up to meet Foyfoy's gaze he finds himself repeating it in the same collected voice he always uses. "You don't have to pay me, I'll help you in exchange for your time."

"My time?" Now he has Foyfoy curious. "Do you need my help with something?"

Teufel bites his tongue and regret starts pooling in his stomach. He's being awkward with social skills again but he can't reason a way to correct himself so he rolls with it. "Not help, exactly. I just need your time."

"To do what?"

"Just... trust me," Teufel drops it there and ducks under Foyfoy's arm, leaving the room. As soon as he's out of earshot, the breath he was holding is let out and Teufel forces himself to ignore the slight flush in his cheeks.

* * *

 

Work for Teufel for the most part goes by as usual. Avoiding the King, avoiding anybody that needs his help, in particular avoiding Foyfoy. What he said earlier was an accident, and he spent his entire day hiding in a supply closet thinking of ways to explain that he was joking and just said it to throw Foyfoy off.

Nothing came to mind.

He's nearly asleep again when the door opens and in the doorway was a grin akin to the cat's that caught the canary. Teufel immediately regrets the fact that he didn't lock the door, staring blankly as the familiar rough hand reaches out and grabs him by the bicep.

"Hey buddy!" Alles grins as she pulls him out of the closet, tossing him unceremoniously to the marble floor again. As fast as she appeared, she seems to vanish. Perhaps if he just closes his eyes, Teufel can go to sleep again right there...

"Oi," Hopes shattered. Hesitation can only buy him so much time before his eyes meet with bitter golden ones. "What happened to helping me?"

"Erm, that comes later," Teufel praises himself mentally for his ability to bullshit on the spot, however he regrets it as he feels a sting to the back of his head. He scrunches up his nose and looks at Foyfoy, whose hand is raised in a way to implicate him as the person that smacked the back of his head. "Why'd you do that?"

"Because you deserved it," Foyfoy answers simply, now reaching with the same hand to offer Teufel help standing. He hesitates to take it, but figures that Foyfoy won't harm him seriously (even if he tried, he wouldn't get anywhere) and he accepts the help up. "Anyway," Foyfoy seems to have forgotten his previous annoyance by his tone, "what is it you wanted my time for? We're off duty now."

Words escape Teufel, partially because he's unsure how to explain his thoughts still and partially because he _knows_ Alles is still around and he would very much rather she not hear this lest she relentlessly make fun of him. Unconsciously, Teufel reaches forward and grabs Foyfoy's hand again and pulls him long down the hall.

"Grab your coat and meet me on the lower terrace," was the only thing Foyfoy got in explanation as Teufel left him in front of his own room.

* * *

 

The first thing that catches Foyfoy's attention is the snow; still lightly falling, still piling up enough to warrant boots, still just as beautiful as the first time he remembers playing it it with- he bites his tongue and cuts the thought off.

The second thing that catches his attention is Teufel himself. It's weird, he thinks, that his attention is captured so intensely on his coworker. Eyes trained up to the sky to watch the snow fall, Teufel looks peaceful in a completely new way and it's surprising. The faint flush in his cheek from the cold makes the bags under his eyes stand out more, yet they don't subtract anything from his appearance. If he was to go out on a limb, Foyfoy would even say Teufel looks pretty cute like this.

That thought makes him shake his head rapidly as he approaches Teufel.

"What did you need me for? And outside of all places?" The soft smile and, dare he say it, warmth in Teufel's eyes makes Foyfoy shut his mouth again. Why was his coworker affecting him so much? Huffing visibly into the freezing air, Foyfoy tries to regain his sense of speech. "I-It's cold out here, y'know? Can't we do whatever this is inside?"

Teufel mumbles something in response and Foyfoy has to strain to hear it.

"I... wanted to watch the snow with you."

"... come again?"

Teufel's frostbitten cheeks flush a little darker and he looks back to the sky. "I wanted to watch the snow with you. We're off duty..."

"... oh."

They simply stand quietly for a little longer, occasionally shuffling in place to relieve kinks in their legs. Neither notices the other shooting quick glances and neither notice the fact that the space between them shrinks until they're shoulder to shoulder, staring at the sky in an awed silence. However, they both notice the fact that their fingers found each other's and they choose to not say anything about how warm the other's hand is despite the freezing cold around them.

Neither of them speak it, but both of them think it.

_I'm glad I got to work with you._


End file.
